Girona vs Rayo Vallecano Prediction: Michel to get season up and running

Girona face Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday night in La Liga, as both of these mid-table sides look to get more points on the board. This one kicks off at 18:00 at the Estadi Montilivi as the hosts try to repeat their phenomenal campaign of last term, when they finished third and qualified for the Champions League. 

Below you can find my Girona vs Rayo Vallecano predictions with team news and betting tips.

Girona vs Rayo Vallecano Team News

Michel made several changes for the weekend defeat to Valencia, and he is expected to welcome senior players back into the squad. David Lopes, Miguel Gutierrez and Ivan Martin should return to the XI, while the attacking midfield duo of Viktor Tsygankov and Bryan Gil are aso in contention to start. If further changes are made, expect Yangel Herrera to come back in after his injury, as he returned to the bench against Valencia.

Diego Mendez and Alfonso Espino, two of Rayo Vallecano’s forwards, will miss this one while Gerard Gumbau and Alvaro Garcia both were absent for the draw with Atletico Madrid. Sergio Camello could come back into the XI along with Oscar Valentin if changes are made, while star name James Rodriguez is likely to be named as a substitute for the third successive match. 

Girona vs Rayo Vallecano Odds

Girona are priced at 8/11 to win this game, with Rayo Vallecano available at 18/5. A draw can be backed at 11/4, over 2.5 goals is 10/11 and BTTS is 5/6.

Girona win and BTTS @ 13/5

Now as you can see from Girona’s league position of 12th, they haven’t made the best of starts to the new campaign. However, the fixture list hasn’t been particularly kind to them and they have already played Atleti, Barcelona, Valencia and Sevilla in the league, and PSG in the Champions League. 

I’d expect them to get going now against slightly weaker opposition, and I think they can start to show their quality this season. They finished third last term after a remarkable campaign, where at one point it looked as though they could challenge for the title. They fell away as Real Madrid showed their dominance one more, but a Champions League finish would have been beyond their wildest dreams last summer. 

Football Odds

Now they need to balance competing in Europe’s premier competition with a solid league campaign. They conceded late on against PSG in that 1-0 defeat, but they have to start getting points on the board. I think the likes of Gil, Cristhian Stuani and Van de Beek can combine to get the job done here, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they concede - as their defence hasn’t looked too solid so far this term.  

Donny van de Beek to score @ 5/1

The former Manchester United man joined Girona on a permanent basis this summer, and he looks to have won the trust of his new manager already. He was chosen to play the number 10 role against PSG, and although he dropped to the bench for the Valencia defeat, so did several other first-team players. 

I’d expect him to return to the XI here, and Girona to put in a far better performance as a result. I also think that Van de Beek is a massive price to score anytime, so I’d place a small wager on him to find the net anytime at 5/1. Given he should play in that attacking midfield role again, and make runs into the box, I think he could score against Rayo Vallecano.

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